The Clock Ticks To The Beat Of Love
by GoldGuardian2418
Summary: Sequel to my other story "The Best Home For All Time". Crystal comes back to the Mansion after being left at the altar. Will she find love again and will Ella get her wish of having a real mom? Find out!


**This story is the sequel to my other story "The Best Home For All Time" and mentions part of my other story "A Scare Worth Writing About". **

**Disclaimer: I only own Rachel, Sasha, Crystal, Amy, and Ella and the Grant Mansion. Also, the book titles for Crystal's books are ones I made up.**

* * *

**The Clock Ticks To The Beat Of Love**

The taxi drove up to the tall, wrought-iron gate and stopped, letting a woman in her late twenties climb out and grab her three suitcases and three other bags, paying the cab driver and giving him a tip. "Thank you," she said and picked up her bags, distributing the weight evenly as the taxi driver quickly got going, casting a fearful glance over his shoulder. The woman sighed as she watched the taxi drive away and then opened the gate with one hand, closing it behind her while juggling her bags. She then started walking up the path in high heels that were hurting her feet and feeling weighed down by the beautiful white dress she wore. Instead of feeling pretty, she felt ugly.

The reason was because had been ready to be married earlier that day to the man who had asked her to be his forever. But then, he not only left her at the altar, he had been found at his parents' home with another woman. In tears, Crystal had fled the church, gone home and quickly packed her bags, but was unsure of where to go when she had finished.

Until she saw her book _A Scare Turned Friendship_ and the answer came to her right then. The house that had inspired her story and the sequel, _Friendship Always_.

The Grant Mansion.

Now, she walked over the hill and saw the house, looking like it had before with a touch of refurbishing, giving her a hint that the occupants had no doubt fixed the house up a bit more while keeping the outward look the same haunted appearance. Smiling a little, she kept walking and finally got to the door, setting down some bags and using that free hand to firmly knock on the door.

* * *

Whampire had been resting in the living room, hanging from the ceiling when he heard the knock at the door and looked out the window to see who it was. His eyes narrowed as he saw it was a woman who must have thought this was a hotel. Getting down from the ceiling, he opened the door, intending to scare her with his appearance.

Crystal waited and then the door opened and when she saw who it was, she smiled. "Hello, Whampire," she said.

The Vladat was taken back that she knew his name. "Who are you?" he growled out, narrowing his eyes to look intimidating.

"It's me. Crystal. Don't you remember?" she asked. "I came looking for inspiration for my book."

Whampire's eyes widened as he remembered a young woman who had come looking for inspiration to write her book. But then he narrowed his eyes again.

"What was the first thing I said when I first met you, then?" he asked her.

She realized he meant when she had been running from Ghostfreak and Whampire had whizzed past her and tried to capture her the first time she came to the Mansion. "Fresh, young blood. So hard to find nowadays," she said. "Snare-Oh caught me as I was running from you and Ghostfreak."

He nodded and smiled. "It's good to see you again, Crystal," he said and then noticed she was still standing there with what several bags on her arms. "Gracious, here I am interrogating you and you've looked like you've walked all the way up the hill with those bags."

"I did," she said.

Whampire motioned her inside and took some of her bags for her, grunting a little when he felt how heavy they were as he led her to the living room where they sat down. Crystal smoothed her dress a little and kicked off the high heels, some tears running down her face. "What happened?" the Vladat asked gently.

She looked up at him. "I was supposed to get married earlier today," she said. "But the man I was going to marry left me at the altar for someone else."

That made the alien vampire wince. "Ouch," he said sympathetically and then straightened up. "Well, if he did that, then he didn't deserve you."

Crystal looked at him as Whampire placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, giving it a very gentle squeeze. "He didn't deserve you and you certainly deserve better than that," he told her.

She sighed. "You may be right, but I don't think I'll fall in love again," she said. "I thought he loved me, but it was all fake."

The Vladat gently shook his head. "_He _was a fake," he said. "Love isn't a fake."

She only sighed again, making him rub her back to give her more comfort, but he saw she was still upset. He fell into deep thought and suddenly he had an idea.

"Crystal, why don't you stay here for a while?" he asked her. "I'll talk to Rachel about it. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

Crystal looked at him. "That's why I came," she said. "I was hoping she'd let me rent a room for a little while."

"No way am I charging rent when what you need most is support from friends," said Rachel, having heard everything when she had been coming into the living room after a long shift at work. "Crystal, you can stay here as long as you want and who knows? Maybe you'll find a man that will treat you much better."

The author shook her head. "I appreciate that you're trying to cheer me up, but I don't think I'll be falling in love again," she said.

"Never say never," Rachel said with a smile. "Love's got a way of…persuading someone to change their mind after something like this."

Crystal realized Rachel was simply giving her words of wisdom and just nodded, tiredness taking over now that she leaned back against the plush back of the couch, closing her eyes a bit. Whampire gently squeezed her shoulder gently, making her look at him.

"Why don't we get you settled and you can rest?" he suggested and the young author didn't argue. When Rachel showed her the room and she and Whampire had brought up the bags up to the room, Crystal collapsed on the bed and fell fast asleep and the two let her be, deciding to go tell the others the news.

* * *

Crystal slept through the night and woke up the next day, wondering if she was at home, but then remembered the day before and looked around, realizing that it was morning. Sighing, she went and took a shower and dressed into jeans and a t-shirt. She stepped out and took a deep breath.

"Crystal, how are you?" said a familiar, friendly voice and she turned to find Snare-Oh behind her and she smiled.

"I'm doing better, Snare-Oh," she said as she accepted a hug from him. The alien mummy then brought the young author up to date on the happenings of the Mansion, even insisting she meet his fiancée Amy, who greeted the author warmly and with praise for her books. Crystal felt honored to meet her and the others, who greeted her like she was a long-lost friend, making her feel welcomed.

Meanwhile, Whampire in his room, hanging upside down and thinking deeply. He remembered a conversation he and Clockwork had just had the other day, the time alien admitting that he thought Ella needed a mother along with him. The young girl had definitely improved after coming to the Mansion and being under Rachel and Rook's care and then becoming Clockwork's daughter.

Ella looked happier too, but Clockwork mentioned how he would see the young girl looking at the other couples and how she'd walk out of the room when a movie was on and it showed the mother comforting the child. He felt bad that she didn't have a mother or someone she could turn to for motherly advice.

Whampire had reassured his friend that someday he'd find a woman who would love him and would love to have Ella as a daughter. Now, he snapped his fingers as an idea hit him. Clockwork and Crystal were a perfect match, he was certain.

But first, he needed to see how Ella would react to Crystal before he'd put his plan into action, which would first be with Ella meeting him since she hadn't met him yet and then convincing her to help him bring her father and Crystal together. He now flew down from the ceiling and headed down to the kitchen to help Sasha with making lunch.

* * *

Crystal sat down on her bed after setting up her room, taking a moment to collect her thoughts when she suddenly saw someone run down the hallway. Curious, she looked and saw the person run into a room. Hearing sobs, she went down the hall to the bedroom and looked in, seeing a young girl with dark hair laying on the bed, crying into a blanket that she had bunched up in her arms and was holding tightly.

"Are you alright, hon?" she asked gently.

The girl opened her dark eyes, which were a bit red from her crying, and looked at her, tears still running down her face. Crystal sat on the edge of the bed. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, her voice taking on a motherly concern. She had always liked kids and this young girl looked like she could use someone to talk to.

She looked down. "Are you Crystal?" she asked.

"I am," said the young author. "What's your name?"

"Ella," the girl sniffled. "Hi."

Crystal smiled. "Hi," she said. "Why are you sad?"

Ella looked away for a moment and then looked back at the author. "Some girls at school today were being mean. The class is putting on a play and it's going to be at the public auditorium, but the girls were saying I shouldn't be in it because I don't have parents. I told them I have a dad, but they said that didn't count and even said that he would soon throw me out into the street because he'd realize he made a mistake in adopting me," she said.

That drew a gasp of shock from the older woman and it was quiet for a moment before she looked at Ella.

"Sweetie, none of that is true," she said. "I'm sure your adoptive father would never throw you out into the street."

The twelve-year-old looked at Crystal. "How do you know that?" she asked. "You haven't met my dad yet, have you?"

It was a fair question and Crystal smiled. "Well, I haven't met your father, but I can tell he loves you very much," she said. "Because he chose to adopt you and raise you as his daughter. Do you think he would have done so if he didn't love you?"

Ella thought about it and shook her head, realizing the kind lady had a point. Feeling new tears coming, the young girl did something that she had only done with Rachel, Rook, and Clockwork.

She hugged Crystal, who was a bit surprised, but returned the hug all the same, holding Ella in a comforting embrace, speaking soothingly to her as she rubbed her back.

Whampire smiled as he watched them, taking this as a good sign that Ella liked Crystal, which was good, because that gave his plan more a chance to work. He then let them be, deciding to talk to Ella the next day when she came home from school.

* * *

All the aliens, except for Rook and Whampire, were out at HQ and Rachel and Sasha invited Crystal to come with them to the mall while Rook would be their chaperone. She agreed and the four got ready and Rachel spoke with Whampire.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" she asked him.

"I'm sure," he said. "It would be the perfect time to meet Ella and have her trust me. It's important for my mission."

Rachel cocked an eyebrow. "You've been really secretive with this mission," she said, having caught on that the Vladat was up to something the other day when she saw him watching Crystal helping Ella with homework and the young girl was smiling, which made Rachel smile as she realized Ella was slowly becoming less shy as she slowly began to trust her new family.

Whampire now only smiled at Rachel. "You'll see soon," he promised. "Right now, it has to be a secret."

She smiled. "Okay," she said. "I trust you and I hope Ella will realize she can trust you too."

"I'm sure she will."

Wishing the Vladat good luck, Rachel headed downstairs and went out to the Proto-Truk with Crystal where Rook was waiting and Sasha gave Whampire a kiss, promising to be back later. He only smiled and kissed her again, promising to be waiting for her.

Ella walked in through the front door and went to the kitchen to do her homework and saw a note on the table where she sat.

_Dear Ella,_

_Hope you had a good day at school. Most of the other aliens are at work and Rook, Crystal, Sasha, and I have gone out for a bit. One of the aliens is there to watch you while we're gone. Meantime, there's some carrot sticks and broccoli with onion dip in the fridge for a snack. We'll be back later._

_Love, Rachel._

Ella wondered who was there with her as she grabbed some carrot sticks and broccoli with some onion dip and sat down, munching on the snack while doing her homework. All she had was a bit of Math, English, and Science to do. She was done in about an hour and put her books away, taking her plate to the sink. Seeing the dishes piled there, she decided she'd do them and then see what was on TV.

The dishes were done about ten minutes later and Ella went to the living room, flopping down on the couch and letting out a sigh before turning on the TV and flipping through the channels. There was another movie on about a family adopting a girl and she turned it off as the hurtful words the bullies had said the day before echoed in her mind.

"Crystal was right, you know. Those girls were wrong."

The new voice made Ella jump and look to see a green and black vampire with a pale face, fangs, and claws looking at her. She quickly scrambled back and his face seemed to soften. "Easy, Ella," he said. "Don't be alarmed."

She kept backing up and then took off running, making him shake his head a bit before he flew off after her. She saw him chasing her and she kept running, but he caught up to her using his speed and cornered her in her room. Ella looked ready to burst into tears as she sunk down to the floor and closed her eyes and covered her head with her arms, whimpering.

Whampire kneeled down and placed a hand gently on her back, feeling her flinch when he did so. "Easy," he said again, lowering his voice to a gentle whisper. "I'm not going to hurt you, Ella. I wouldn't dream of it."

She shivered a little and peeked up at him, seeing his green eyes looking at her with concern as he began gently rubbing her back to soothe her. "It's alright," he said to her. "Don't be afraid."

She didn't look very convinced and when he reached for her arms to gently pull them away from her head, she immediately curled up again fearfully, making him sigh lightly.

"Looks like I'll have to try another way to get you to not be afraid of me," he said aloud and then smiled. "And I know how."

Ella just curled up tighter, but then let out a sharp giggle when she felt fingers wiggle into her underarms, making her bring her arms down to protect herself, but she realized that in doing so, she had trapped his fingers there under her arms and he smiled hugely as his fingers kept wiggling into her underarms and she giggled more, trying to stay curled up, but the tickles were breaking through her defenses.

"Cootchie cootchie coo, tickle tickle tickle! What a ticklish young one I have in my grasp. You can't escape," Whampire singsonged teasingly as he kept tickling her, smiling in amusement as she tried to stay curled up in her defensive position, but she was losing the battle.

"Come on, now," said the Vladat, his voice gentle and full of amusement. "I'm afraid you can't win this battle, little one."

Ella shook her head as she giggled harder. Then Whampire began tickling her neck and her giggles grew louder, but what made her start laughing was when he suddenly picked her up and held her with her back to his chest, giving her no chance of escape as he wiggled his claws playfully but gently into her sides and stomach.

She just about lost it and laughed hard, squirming to get away, but the alien was too strong and then he sat down on the bed with her in his lap as he lifted up her shirt a little and tickled her belly button with one claw.

The twelve-year-old finally burst, squealing with cute laughter as she tried to get away, but Whampire only chuckled as his gentle grip prevented her from escaping.

"Well, well. What a ticklish tummy and a ticklish belly button," he chuckled teasingly as he then blew a raspberry in her neck, making her scrunch up her neck as her laughter became louder.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THAT TICKLES! PLEAHEEHEEHEEHEEASE!" Ella said through her laughter.

"Hmm? You want me to keep tickling you?" He asked with a smile. "How about one better?"

With that, he gently pinned her on her back and moved her shirt up to the bottom of her ribcage, tickling her sides to make her giggle and she grabbed his hands, but he then leaned down and began blowing raspberries into her stomach.

It tickled so much that Ella just about lost her voice laughing so hard, but Whampire stopped when he heard her laughter start dying down, letting her up and she sat up, smoothing down her hair and looking at the Vladat, who smiled at her again and she actually smiled a little. "Are you still afraid of me?" he asked her gently.

She looked away for a moment. "A little," she admitted and saw him smirk at her.

"I can tickle you again," he said teasingly.

Giggling, she shook her head and curled up as he playfully wiggled his claws at her, lightly tickling her shoulder blades and making her giggle a bit louder. "Okay, okay!" she said and he stopped again and she looked up at him and her expression became thoughtful. "Why did you tickle me?" she asked curiously.

"To help you see that I wouldn't hurt you, little one," he said. "Do you think a monster would tickle you if he wanted to hurt you?"

She gave it some thought. "I guess not," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "But I don't really know. Snare-Oh told me tickles are used to show affection."

"And they are," the Vladat said, nodding. "You didn't really know about tickles until you came here, hmm?"

She shook her head. "No," she admitted and hugged herself into a ball again sadly. Whampire lifted one hand to her and brought her closer to him with his telekinesis. She looked a little alarmed, but he just held her in a gentle hug and she listened to his heartbeat, which soothed her a bit more.

"Do you feel better?" he now asked her and she nodded. "Good, because I need your help with something."

"You do?" she asked. "But, how can I help you?"

Smiling, he whispered his plan in her ear. Her eyes grew wide as they filled with hope. "You really mean it?" she asked him.

He nodded. "Yes," he said. "Hopefully it will work."

"What do I need to do?"

He smiled and told her before they headed out and started gathering the materials they would need to pull off the mission they had.

* * *

The next afternoon, Ella came home from school with a smile, holding her Science test proudly in her hand. Clockwork noticed her happiness.

"I'm guessing you had a good day today," he said to her.

She nodded. "I got an A on my Science test, Daddy," she said, hugging him.

"Wonderful!" he said, pride in his voice. "I'm so proud of you."

Whampire came in. "Did I hear someone got a good grade on a test?" he asked.

"You did, Uncle Whampire. I got an A!" she said, hugging him.

"Good job," he smiled and then turned to Clockwork. "Clockwork, I was wondering if it would be alright if Rachel and I took Ella to the movie theater? That movie she wanted to see is playing."

The twelve-year-old caught on and looked at her father pleadingly. "May I, Daddy?" she asked, her eyes round and shining. Smiling, her father nodded.

"Alright, but you listen to your aunt and uncle," he said to her.

"Yes, Daddy."

Sasha then came out. "Hey, honey, I got your I.D. mask," she said, handing it to Whampire, who put it on. His disguise was a young man with black hair, slightly tanned skin, and deep green eyes. He smiled at her.

"Thank you, my angel," he said, kissing her, making Ella giggle a bit before she turned a bit somber. Clockwork felt a stab of guilt at that, knowing why his little girl was a bit sad.

Rachel then came out and rolled her eyes. "Did someone superglue your lips together?" she asked, her smile showing she was teasing.

Sasha gave her a playful glare, but the grandfather clock chiming the hour prevented her from making a retort as she suddenly realized the time. "Oh, no! I have to be at the school for that presentation!" she said, giving Whampire another kiss before heading out.

"Have fun, Sasha!" Rachel called out with a smile of encouragement as she knew this was a presentation her sister had been looking forward to.

"I will!" Sasha called back before her car disappeared over the hill.

Rachel then looked at Whampire and Ella. "We better get going if we want to get good seats for the movie," she said to them. "Clockwork, can you hold down the fort until we get back?"

"No problem," said the time alien. "Have fun."

Not long after the three had left in Rachel's black and silver Camaro, Clockwork sat on the couch and fell into thought. He had been receiving calls from the school for most of the week about the bullies hurting Ella and Rachel had managed to get the young girl out and make sure the bullies were punished, but those kids had still been saying hurtful things to his little girl and he was furious.

He was considering doing something to get the bullies to leave his daughter alone when he heard the door open and immediately got defensive, but then he just stood there in shock when he saw the woman that walked in.

"Hello?" Crystal called out and then saw a yellow robot in the living room, looking at her with a stunned look. She stood still a moment, wondering why he was looking at her like that. "Um, is something wrong?" she asked curiously.

Clockwork snapped out of his stunned state. "No, not at all," he said reassuringly. "You just surprised me. Are you Crystal?"

She looked surprised. "Yes," she said after a moment.

He smiled. "You're the one who's been helping Ella," he said. "She's told me about how you've been helping her with her homework and studying."

Crystal smiled. "You must be her father then," she said. "She was eager to make you proud by getting a good grade on her Science test."

"She did. She received an A."

That made Crystal smile. "I'm afraid I didn't catch your name," she said.

"I'm Clockwork, a Chronosapien," he introduced himself. "And yes, I am Ella's father."

Crystal smiled again. "She is a very bright girl."

"Yes, she is."

Soon they were sitting on the couch, talking to each other. While she was telling him about how she had first come to the Grant Mansion, he simply observed her. Her dark hair and her beautiful eyes mesmerized him. He thought she was very beautiful and realized that he was falling for her.

They settled on watching a movie after a while, sitting together with some snacks. Crystal was enjoying the movie until she noticed Clockwork glancing at her and she smiled, leaning against his side, surprising him, but he placed his arm around her and she not only felt her heart beat faster, but heard his heart beat faster too, making her realize he was falling for her and that she was falling for him.

It was late when the movie at the theater ended, but it was a weekend, so it was alright, but Ella had fallen asleep as soon as she had buckled up in the back seat. Rachel drove as Whampire sat in the passenger seat, glancing back at the young girl.

"She had a good time," he said.

Rachel nodded. "How do you think things went with Crystal and Clockwork?" she asked him, having been let in on the secret mission earlier that day.

"I guess we'll find out when we get there."

They certainly did and they smiled when they saw the cute scene of both the young author and the time alien sound asleep on the couch with Crystal leaning against Clockwork's side and he had an arm around her. Whampire chuckled lightly and looked down at Ella, who was sound asleep in his arms. "I'll take Ella upstairs to her room," he whispered to Rachel, who nodded and watched him do so before she got out a couple blankets and placed one on Crystal and one on Clockwork, smiling again before she let them be.

* * *

One week later, it was Valentine's Day and Clockwork was busy preparing for the date he had asked Crystal on, but felt very nervous. Ella came in. "Daddy, is everything okay?" she asked him.

He looked at her. "Ella, I was wondering, how would you feel if Crystal became your mother?" he asked.

To his surprise, she smiled. "Are you going to ask her?" she asked. "Please say yes."

Now, Clockwork was suspicious and he smiled at her. "Is there something you haven't told me, young lady?" he asked, sounding somewhat stern.

She smiled and looked at the doorway where Rachel and Whampire were standing. "Looks like Sasha and I aren't the only ones who can play matchmaker," said Rachel with a smirk.

Now, the Chronosapien realized it. They had set both him and Crystal up. He smiled. "Well, I plan to ask her tonight," he said in answer to Ella's earlier question. "I do hope she says yes."

Whampire chuckled. "I have no doubt about it," he said and Rachel nodded in agreement before lightly clearing her throat.

"Well, come on, downstairs. Breakfast is waiting," she said and headed out with them right behind her.

After a delicious breakfast of heart pancakes, which had receive much praise from everyone, Crystal was up in her room on her computer, putting some more touches on her new story about a woman whose heart had been broken. It had been based on her story, but now she worked a bit more on it, giving her main character a new man to love and that man had a lovely daughter who needed a mother. She had just finished it and sent it to her publisher, who promised her it would be ready by the end of the week.

A knock came at her door and she looked to see Ella there, holding a beautiful heart necklace which she now put on and smiled at Crystal, going in and giving her a hug. "Thanks…Mom," she said before gently pulling away, leaving Crystal in a shocked state as she watched the young girl head out to go to school. She couldn't believe it. It was just like she had just finished writing in her story _Valentine's For Family_.

She smiled and went about her day. When evening came, she put on a beautiful, green dress and walked downstairs and saw Clockwork waiting for her. He smiled and then put on his I.D. Mask, disguising himself as a tall man with blonde hair and sea-green eyes. He was wearing a tuxedo, which made Crystal lightly laugh and smile as he bowed to her.

"Milady, you look absolutely stunning tonight," he said, his thick accent making her sigh lovingly.

"And you look mighty handsome, my gallant sir," she said with a curtsy as she then took his arm and they headed out to the public auditorium to watch the school play.

It was a wonderful and cute play and the bullies were surprised when Clockwork and Crystal came up with the other parents and told Ella they were proud of her. Ella had smiled and hugged them both happily.

Then, to their surprise, Rachel, Rook, Sasha, and Whampire also came up to congratulate Ella, who was surprised that they were there, thinking they had gone out on their dates, but she was happy they were there for her too. The hugs were endless and they all headed back for the Mansion.

As the other couples were enjoying Valentine's Day with the ones they loved, Ella had gone off to bed, tired from doing the play and she fell asleep smiling, hoping that tomorrow she'd have a new mom.

Clockwork looked at the preparations he had made and swallowed nervously, waiting for Crystal to come in. She came in a few moments later.

Her face full of wonder, the author took a moment to take in the scented candles that were burning on the table, letting off the sweet aroma of cookies and cream, and a plate with what looked like the tiny and large conversational hearts. Clockwork led her to it and smiled.

"Go ahead," he said and watched as she picked up the hearts and read the messages on them, smiling as she saw the ones that said 'Marry Me' on them and she smiled, picking up one of the 'Marry Me' ones and eating it before handing one to the time alien, who saw the message on it and froze.

The message was one word. 'Yes'.

And he looked up into her smile, especially when she pulled out the ring he had put in the bowl of candy hearts and placed it on her left hand. "Rachel was right," she said. "Love does have a way of persuading someone to change their mind on love."

"Yes," said Clockwork. "Oh, Crystal."

"Oh, Clockwork," she said as she felt him pull her closer and into the best kiss she had ever received. Not even the guy who had left her at the altar had given her such a great kiss. Crystal felt her knees buckle as she held on to the time alien, who held her upright as he kissed her deeply.

* * *

The next morning, which was a Saturday, Ella woke up eagerly and raced into her father's bedroom, jumping up on the bed and making him groan a little as he was suddenly awoken. "Ella, honey, what time is it?" he asked sleepily.

"It's morning, Daddy," she said eagerly. "So tell me, did she say yes? Do I have a mom?"

Clockwork smiled and held his arms open to her, letting the twelve-year-old snuggle into his hug as he chuckled. "She did, Ella," he said. "She was even surprised yesterday when you called her 'Mom'."

Ella giggled a bit. "I guessed that," she said. "I have a mom again, a real mom this time and a real dad too."

The Chronosapien chuckled and tickled her a bit, making her giggle, which drew Crystal's attention as she came in and smiled. "Good morning, Ella. Good morning, my love," she said.

Clockwork sat up and smiled, motioning her to join her. "Good morning, my dear," he said before they kissed and Ella giggled again, waiting until they were finished kissing before she hugged Crystal happily.

"Morning, Mom," she said happily.

"Good morning, Ella," said Crystal. "How are you?"

"Good, because I now have both a mom and a dad."

That answer not only made Clockwork and Crystal smile, but also made four others smile to. Rachel, Rook, Whampire, and Sasha were smiling and they glanced at each other, thinking the same thing.

"This has got to be the greatest family ever," said Sasha. "And we're all part of it."

"Quite true, my angel," said Whampire as they kissed.

Rachel looked up at Rook. "And it will always stay great, because of love," she said.

"Well said," said Rook, kissing her deeply, love filling up every part of the mansion, especially for three people who were the happiest they had ever been in a long time.

* * *

**Holy cow! This is my longest Ben 10 oneshot to date! Nineteen and a half pages on Word. Whoa!**

**Anyway, please leave a review, but no flames!**

**GoldGuardian2418**


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